Pre-Season 2013 F1 Winter Testing: 1 - Circuito de Jerez, 5-8 February

[Josh]

But unlike van der Garde, who has been getting pretty much the same results since he entered GP2 (7th, 7th, 5th, 6th) Valsecchi has been improving since he entered GP2 (15th, 17th, 8th, 8th, 1st). Frijns is younger and has had much better results (Formula Renault 3.5 champion, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion, Formula BMW champion) in his shorter career than van der Garde but unlike van der Garde he doesn't come with a lot of sponsorship.

I know you're biased because he's Dutch (and I'm supposed to be biased too) but he's just not as good as the Dutch media would like you to believe.

On a different note, all this talking about Dry Sack must have cursed Hamilton because that is where he crashed...

 

[racecub]

Nooooooooo! Lewis has crashed!

 

[FB]

Errm - can we keep the discussion on the testing rather than than rants about the pros and cons of various drivers please. There are threads for all these things, or you can always start your own.

Cheers

FB

 

[FB]

He's got to find the limits racecub and that means going beyond them. Not a good start though.

 

[Josh]

Sorry FB

 

[F1ang-o]

After just15 laps in the Mercedes car & setting the second fastest time, Lewis locked up his brakes at the hairpin & slid through the gravel into the tyre wall. He is unhurt , the car has front wing & front suspension damage.
Not looking good ..after Nico's car was in flames yesterday.

edit ..taken out.... 'just'...,...that was before setting fastest time..see post below

 

[RickD]

It was 3 laps after he set his fastest time F1ang-o - Unless you mean his 2nd fastest time of the day.

 

[jez101]

Um... this is the testing thread isn't it?

I'm fascinated by McLaren's time yesterday. I had a look through last year's thread - there are some useful summaries but I couldn't quote them cos the thread is closed. Basically, Button did a 22.4 on the first day of the first test last year and an 18.9 yesterday...

http://cliptheapex.com/threads/2012-testing-jerez.4544/page-3#post-106502
http://cliptheapex.com/threads/2012-testing-jerez.4544/page-7#post-106818
http://cliptheapex.com/threads/2012-testing-jerez.4544/page-10#post-107020
http://cliptheapex.com/threads/2012-testing-jerez.4544/page-12#post-107151

and also the 2011 fastest times here http://cliptheapex.com/threads/2012-testing-jerez.4544/page-4#post-106557

Remember, Mercedes were running the 2011 EBD car still at the 2012 test.

Other than that, over the four days there were a couple of times quicker than JB yesterday. The surprise for me was that the McLaren yesterday banged in some consistently quick laps. It wasn't like Jenson suddenly put in a banzai lap.

Of course there is no indication of fuel, but I believe I heard / read that it was on a new set of hard tyres, not exactly the supersofts, but yes new tyres.

On the fuel, maybe it was a Q1 simulation, but I'm trying to think of a reason why McLaren would show their hand so early - it's not like they need to do a Williams and attract sponsors. Having said that Sam Michael was at Williams when they developed the habit of flattering to deceive in pre-season testing...?

Do we think they are sandbagging a bit, or is the car just so fast that they can't hold it back? Is JB laying down a marker for his new teammate too? Have McLaren built the car around Jenson and come up with a winning combination? He certainly seemed happy and as we have seen before, when JB is happy enough not to be moaning about the car, he is practically unbeatable.

 

[Brogan]

Hamilton's crash was caused by loss of rear brake pressure - hence front wheels locked up as he went off track

 

[racecub]

Yeah Mercedes have just said same. Lewis fine and they're checking the car. That must have been a nasty shock. I knew he d be pushing but couldn't believe he go off without some issue, not that early in testing.

 

[Greenlantern101]

I can see the headline now.
'Hamiltons rear failure leaves skid marks leading to Dry Sack'

 

[F1ang-o]

A tweet from James E on the BBC site
"Great to see Lewis Hamilton pushing hard aready though. That's what makes him great. He goes closer to the edge than any other f1 driver"

 

[Brogan]

I can see most of the rest of the day being spent in the garage for Mercedes.
Not a great start to their 2013 season.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Why would he be pushing hard on the second morning of what is effectively the first day of testing? I thought that the crash tests had to be done in advance.

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

Jez, Buttons time was 1 second off the fastest time last season....which i would hazard a guess wasn't the ultimate time possible either. Its still early days too, Its going to be interesting to see how things develop throughout the tests though.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Dry sack does seem to be where a driver tries iron out the wrinkles

 

[F1ang-o]

Mercedes say "Lewis suffered a loss of rear brake pressure, the front brakes enabled him to slow the car, but he couldn't avoid the barrier. Obvious damage to front wing & nose."

 

[racecub]

Bill Boddy Bill it was brake failure that caused the crash. But why was he pushing? Because he's a racing driver wanting to get to grips with his new car and what he can get out of it, where its limits are.

 

[RickD]

F1ang-o - I prefer this tweet (although I don't like twitter itself)..
David Dubois - "Maybe Lewis Hamilton saw Jenson Button's pace yesterday and had something to prove? Well he's in a wall now, still happy with the move?"

 

[snowy]

"Update from Jerez... we have traced the problem to the hydraulic brake line connecting to the right-rear caliper. The impact with the barrier also damaged the front left corner (suspension and associated aero parts). No news yet as to when we will be back out on track."